Australian Stock Car Auto Racing
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AUSCAR (Australian Stock Car Auto Racing) was an auto racing sanctioning body owned by
Bob Jane Robert Frederick Jane (18 December 1929 – 28 September 2018) was an Australian race car driver and prominent entrepreneur and business tycoon. A four-time winner of the Armstrong 500, the race that became the prestigious Bathurst 1000 and a ...
, which ran American-style Superspeedway racing in Australia. The initial AUSCAR venue was the 1.801 km (1.119 mi), high-banked (24°)
Calder Park Thunderdome Calder Park Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The complex includes a dragstrip, a road circuit with several possible configurations, and the "Thunderdome", a high-speed banked oval equipped to race either clo ...
Superspeedway in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, but over time the series expanded to include the Jane owned 1/2 mile (805 metre) Speedway Super Bowl at the eastern end of
Adelaide International Raceway The Adelaide International Raceway (also known as Adelaide International or AIR) is a permanent circuit owned by Australian Motorsport Club Limited under the auspices of the Bob Jane Corporation. The circuit is located north of Adelaide in So ...
which first saw AUSCAR racing in 1990 (the Super Bowl was only other paved oval circuit in Australia with only 7° banking in the corners making it essentially a traditional flat track), the
Surfers Paradise Street Circuit The Surfers Paradise Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in Surfers Paradise, in Queensland, Australia. The beach-side track has several fast sections and two chicanes, having been shortened from an original length in 2010. It is th ...
, and eventually several Australian road racing circuits including Calder Park's road course and the
Oran Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway was a motor racing circuit at Narellan south west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia which was operational from February 1962 until its closure in January 2010. The track was designed and started by George Murray and Jac ...
in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
where racing was held under lights on the short version of the circuit. In the early 1990s, Jane and television station Channel 7 announced plans to turn the old Granville Showground trotting track which circled the Parramatta Speedway in Sydney into a paved, banked 1/2 mile track, but this did not happen. Three categories of racing car were developed to run on the Australian circuits: *
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
: imported and locally developed versions of the American race cars. Engines were 6.0L V8s *AUSCAR: down spec-ed cars, closer to production specification with a control road tyre, The category comprised the
Holden Commodore The Holden Commodore is a full-size car that was sold by Holden from 1978 to 2020. It was manufactured from 1978 to 2017 in Australia and from 1979 to 1990 in New Zealand, with production of the locally manufactured versions in Australia endin ...
and
Ford Falcon Ford Falcon is an automobile nameplate applied to several vehicles worldwide. * Ford Falcon (North America), an automobile produced by Ford from 1960 to 1970. * Ford Falcon (Argentina), a car built by Ford Argentina from 1962 until 1991. * Fo ...
. After 1990/91, engines were restricted to 5.0L V8s. * Sportsman: lower specification again, cheaper to buy or build and older cars, and some former AUSCARs. Like AUSCAR, the category comprised the Commodore and Falcon. Engine restrictions saw Holdens use the 4.2L 253 V8 and Fords use de-tuned 5.0L
302 __NOTOC__ Year 302 (CCCII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius or, less frequently, year 1055 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination ...
V8s. Other categories, such as the HQs, a relatively cheap category based on the Holden HQ Kingswood powered by the 3.3L
Holden red motor The Holden straight-six motor is a series of straight-six engine that were produced by General Motors Holden at their Port Melbourne plant between 1948 and 1986. The initial ''Grey'' motor was so dubbed because of the colour of the cylinder block, ...
, were also popular at the Calder Park Thunderdome (as the HQs were Australian-made cars, like the AUSCARs they raced clockwise on the ovals). Another category was based on the American dirt track category known as
Legends A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief. Legend(s) or The Legend(s) may also refer to: Narrative * Urban legend, a widely repeated story of dubious truth * A fictitious identity used in espionage Books, co ...
(similar in appearance, but unrelated to
Aussie Racing Cars Aussie Racing Cars (ARC) is an Australian motor racing category. ARC is a motorcycle powered silhouette racing car class created by former touring car racer Phil Ward and influenced by the American Legends category. Aussie Racing Cars was deve ...
), since disappeared from circuit racing.
Open-wheel cars An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...
such as
Formula Vee Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Brazil and Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford. On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Eme ...
also raced on occasion at the Thunderdome as a support to the NASCAR / AUSCAR races, as did the
Dirt track racing Dirt track racing is a form of motorsport held on clay or dirt surfaced oval race tracks often used for thoroughbred horse racing. Dirt track racing started in the United States before World War I and became widespread during the 1920s and 1930s ...
Grand Nationals for a few meetings in 1990.


AUSCAR category

AUSCAR was also the name used for the second tier racing category that raced alongside the Australian NASCAR
stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
series, starting in 1986 and continuing until 2001. The cars were not pure
space frame In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
chassis like NASCAR, but were built on Australian Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon road car chassis. As a result, AUSCARs are right-hand-drive and race
clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...
on oval tracks, compared to the left-hand-drive,
anticlockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite s ...
NASCAR vehicles - the theory being that the driver is located at the furthest point possible from the outside retaining walls. AUSCARs were also restricted to running 5.0 litre
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
and
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
s, though initially the
Ford XF Falcon The Ford Falcon (XF) is a full-sized car that was produced by Ford Australia from 1984 to 1988. It was the third and final iteration of the fourth generation of the Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (XF)—the luxury-oriented version. ...
s used the 5.8L 351 Cleveland V8 engines (despite the road going XFs not carrying the V8 as
Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of United States-based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Comp ...
had stopped production of the engine in 1983), but subsequent Falcons (from the EB model which in 1991 re-introduced the Ford V8 to the Australian market for the first time in 8 years) would run the 5.0L V8. Commodore teams were also free to use the
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
size 4.9L Holden V8 engine, though unlike in Group A racing using the 4.9L engine did not come with an overall weight reduction for the car. As such most Holden competitors used the 5.0L engines. The 5.0L AUSCAR engines were strictly controlled and developed around compared to the of the larger and more highly developed, 366 cubic inch (6.0L) engines used in NASCAR, and as a result AUSCARs were slower than their American counterparts (at the Thunderdome, NASCAR stock cars were capable of around while AUSCARs had a top speed of approximately ). Like the NASCAR engines, the engines used in AUSCAR were
carbureted A carburetor (also spelled carburettor) is a device used by an internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the venturi tube in the main meteri ...
rather than having
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All comp ...
like the road going V8s used by
Holden Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
and Ford. AUSCARs also used a Goodyear Eagle control road tyre that was narrow unlike the slick racing tyres used in NASCAR. One thing in AUSCARs' favour was that they only weighed in at compared to the NASCAR stock cars. Although they weighed less, as a result of using smaller, less powerful engines and the road tyre, AUSCARs were generally around , or around four seconds per lap, slower than the NASCAR stock cars around the Thunderdome. Tony Kavich won the first ever AUSCAR championship in 1988. However, in a shock to the male dominated motor racing establishment, the first ever AUSCAR race at the Thunderdome (which was also the first race to exclusively use the track), the aptly named AUSCAR 200, was won by 18-year-old Melbourne based female driver Terri Sawyer driving a
Holden VK Commodore The Holden Commodore (VK) is a mid-size car that was produced by Holden from 1984 to 1986. It was the fourth iteration of the first generation of the Holden Commodore and introduced the luxury variant, Holden Calais (VK) sedan. Overview The ...
. Sawyer had qualified her Commodore on the front row of the grid and ran at or near the front all day to win from Kim Jane (the nephew of Calder owner Bob Jane), Max de Jersey, Phil Brock and Graham Smith. The top five positions all going to those driving either a VK or VL Commodore. Greg East, also driving a VK Commodore, sat on pole for the AUSCAR 200 with a time of 33.2 seconds for an average speed of 121.34 mp/h. While Sawyer would remain very competitive in the early years of the category, the early days were dominated by Jim Richards. Though it was
Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...
panel shop owner and
Group E Group E may refer to: * E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements * Group E (vase painting) Group E (or E Group) was a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style. They were a ...
/
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
driver Brad Jones who would come to dominate the category, winning five consecutive titles during the peak of the series popularity, all in various model Commodores. Other notable drivers include: Greg East, Steve Harrington, Mark Seaton, Marshall J. Brewer,
Gregg Hansford Gregory John "Gregg" Hansford (8 April 1952 – 5 March 1995) was an Australian professional motorcycle and touring car racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1978 to 1981 and in Australian tour ...
, Terry Wyhoon,
Garry Rogers Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the te ...
,
Russell Ingall Russell Ingall (born 24 February 1964 in London, England) is a former full-time Australian V8 Supercar driver. He won his V8 Supercars title in 2005, and finished second in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004. Ingall has also won the Bathurst 1000, i ...
,
John Faulkner John Philip Faulkner (born 12 April 1954) is an Australian former Labor Party politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1989 to 2015. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Keating, Rudd and Gillard Governments. After his election to ...
,
Steven Richards Steven James Richards (born 11 July 1972) is a New Zealand-Australian racing driver, currently competing in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship. Richards, the son of seven-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jim Richards, is himself a five-t ...
(the son of inaugural champion Jim), Tony Kavich, Adam Pay,
Nathan Pretty Nathan Pretty (born 7 July 1973) is an Australian racecar driver. Career He first rose to prominence racing AUSCAR Superspeedway sedans (a Holden Commodore), becoming rookie of the year in his initial season in 1994. His family based race tea ...
and his sister Nicole, Jason Whylie, Eddie Abelnecia and Leigh Watkins who was the only driver to win the championship driving a Falcon. Even Australian
touring car Touring car and tourer are both terms for open cars (i.e. cars without a fixed roof). "Touring car" is a style of open car built in the United States which seats four or more people. The style was popular from the early 1900s to the 1930s. Th ...
legend
Peter Brock Peter Geoffrey Brock (26 February 1945 – 8 September 2006), known as "Peter Perfect", "The King of the Mountain", or simply "Brocky", was an Australian motor racing driver. Brock was most often associated with Holden for almost 40 years, al ...
briefly tried AUSCAR in 1988 driving an XF Falcon (after his 1987 split with Holden). Brock qualified 3rd for his first race, the 1988 Goodyear AUSCAR 200 and actually led for a number of laps until a split radiator saw him spin into retirement. To his credit, Brock later admitted that he wasn't comfortable racing on the high speed ovals and his time in the category only lasted a couple of meetings. He did return however for his testimonial race meeting held on the Calder Park short (road) circuit in 1995 driving a VR Commodore.1995 AUSCAR Calder Park Pt.2
/ref> Due to the returning popularity of the
Australian Touring Car Championship The Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) is a touring car racing award held in Australia since 1960. The series itself is no longer contested, but the title lives on, with the winner of the Repco Supercars Championship awarded the trophy ...
, relaunched as
V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport. Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
in 1997, as well as financial difficulties and other problems such as Bob Jane's long-running "feud" with the
Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Motorsport Australia, formerly the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), is the nationally recognised governing and sanctioning body for four-wheeled motorsport in Australia. It is affiliated with the Federation Internationale de l'Au ...
(CAMS), which saw CAMS ban its members from competing in the series, robbing it of a number of leading drivers, AUSCAR was quietly shut down and the drivers dispersed into other national racing series.


Champions


See also

* NASCAR in Australia


References


External links


Calder Park Motor Sport
{{Class of Auto racing Stock car racing Motorsport categories in Australia Motorsport governing bodies in Australia